The City‘s tallest skyscraper has put up the “no vacancies” sign after its last available office space was snapped up.
The vast 62-storey tower at 22 Bishopsgate was seen as a potential white elephant when construction completed in December 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
However demand for space in the 1.2 million sq ft building has been far stronger than expected and it is now fully let.
The last vacant space, the 25,000 sq ft level five has been leased to RiverStone International, an acquirer of legacy and discontinued insurance business, on a 15-year deal.
The 278-meter high landmark is the second tallest in the UK after The Shard and the 18th highest in Europe.
Construction work on the site started as long ago as 2008 when an earlier scheme, known as The Pinnacle, got under way. However, work was suspended in 2012 after the financial crisis with only the concrete core of the first seven storeys visible above ground. A redesign by London based PLP Architecture was approved by City planners in 2015 and work started on the current building, owned by a consortium led by French investors Axa, in 2016.
The building is now home to more than 100 businesses including 77 start-ups and SMEs in its flex and co-working space, and 27 larger tenants on longer term office leases of primarily 10 to 15 years length.
It also has Europe’s highest free public viewing gallery, Horizon 22, and five Gordon Ramsay restaurant sites, including Asian inspired Lucky Cat Bishopsgate, due to open next month.
Other facilities include a 20,000 sq ft food hub called ‘The Market’, a gym with London’s first window-mounted climbing wall offering views across London from 125 metres above ground, a wellbeing space and an commuter park with storage for around 1,700 bikes, a repair centre, and electric charging points.
John O’Driscoll, global co-head of real estate at AXA IM Alts, said: “This final office lease marks another significant milestone for 22 Bishopsgate, a project we are proud to say has redefined what an office building should - and now needs to - offer. We recognised early that changing occupier requirements would call for a structural shift in workplace design and operations, with service levels more akin to a hotel than a traditional office.
“Having developed 22 Bishopsgate through both Brexit and the pandemic - periods of significant uncertainty for both London and the office sector - the building is now fully let, with average rents exceeding our original underwrite, demonstrating that we were right to have the courage of our convictions.
“Post pandemic we have seen a huge acceleration in the evolution of occupier requirements further contributing to the building’s success, with many of the future proofing ‘nice-to-have’ features we incorporated now viewed simply as ‘must-haves’.”
